He had to admit that Haley knew which buttons to push, because Alanna straightened at her words. "You're right. She can't have died in vain. Sabrina thought your brother, Landon, had been murdered. She believed there was a cover-up."
"Why would she think that?" Haley asked.
"She didn't give me specifics. She said she'd come across some new information."
"I don't understand," Haley said, impatience in her voice. "How did Sabrina even know about my brother? He died six years ago. Why would information come up about him now? And why would Sabrina have it?"
"It goes back to law school at Westbridge," Alanna said. "In our final year, Sabrina and I interned at the university legal aid center, helping students with basic legal questions and concerns. One day, a student came in and told us that a friend of his had died a few weeks earlier, and he didn't think it was an accident. He'd gone to the police, but they wouldn't talk to him. He wanted to know what else he could do."
"What was his name?"
Before Alanna could answer, the server returned with their coffees, and he could see Haley's impatience grow until the woman finally walked away.
"His name was Arjun Patel," Alanna answered. "And he was talking about Landon's death. He said that Landon told him some guys in his fraternity were pressuring him, and he was upset about it. A few days later, he was dead after a fraternity party, and Arjun didn't believe that was a coincidence."
"What did you tell him?" Haley asked.
"Sabrina said she'd pass the information on to the head of the legal aid center, and they'd follow up with him, campus security, and the police. After he left, Sabrina spoke to our supervisor. Less than ten minutes later, we were both told that the university and the police had already done a thorough investigation. She suggested Sabrina contact Arjun and encourage him to get counseling, because he was clearly upset about his friend's death."
Haley shook her head in disgust. "How could they not even talk to him? That investigation was a sham."
"Did you know Arjun Patel?" he asked Haley.
"No. I've never heard that name. Landon didn't talk much about his friends. When we spoke, it was mostly about his work or his grades or…me," she said, guilt running through her eyes. "It wasn't until after he died that I realized how little I knew about his life. I should have asked more questions."
"Let's get back to Arjun," he said, turning to Alanna. "Did Sabrina ever speak to Arjun again? Is he the reason she started digging into this after so many years?"
"No. She tried to talk to him after she met with our supervisor, but Arjun had dropped out of school and turned off his phone. He basically disappeared."
"Wait—he dropped out of school?" Haley asked. "So close to graduation?"
Alanna nodded, a grim look in her gaze. "Yes. We both wondered why, but that was the end until a few weeks ago."
"What happened?" he asked. "What was the trigger for all this coming back up?"
"Sabrina asked me to get a drink late one night. That, on its own, was unusual because she worked a million hours at Adler and Briggs and barely had time to breathe. They were slowly sucking the life out of her, but that day she was all lit up. She asked me if I remembered your brother, and, of course, I said I did," she said, looking at Haley.
"What did she tell you?"
"She'd heard something that made her believe Landon's death was not an accident, and she was looking into it," Alanna said. "I asked her for more details, but she said she didn't want to say more until she knew more. But she thought it was all about money."
"Money?" Haley echoed, her expression confused. "My brother had no money. He worked a side job to pay for what his scholarship didn't cover."
"I don't know what she meant; I'm just telling you what she said."
"Did she say anything else?" he asked. "You texted her that she could lose her job. Why would you say that?"
"Because Graham Adler went to Westbridge, and so did his son, Henry. Half the attorneys at that firm are Westbridge grads. If Sabrina had discovered that Westbridge had covered up a murder, her firm would not be happy with her. They are huge donors to the school."
"Did Sabrina consider going to the police?"
"She tried to talk to someone at the FBI, but he wasn't there, and whoever she spoke to said she should talk to the police, that it wasn't in their jurisdiction to look into a death at a private university. They blew her off."
"Who did she talk to?" he asked, disturbed by that answer.
"I don't know, but the person she wanted to talk to was recommended by Anthony Devray. He apparently worked with this guy and said he could be trusted."
"Anthony Devray," he murmured. That was how Sabrina had his number. But Shari had told him that Sabrina hadn't spoken to anyone in his office. And that she'd offered to help, but Sabrina hadn't wanted to talk to anyone but him. Something was off about the sequence of events.
